Royal Mail refuses to deliver when it’s wet

Businesses on a Doncaster street have said they are outraged at a Royal Mail decision to stop delivering their post when it’s wet.

Firms in the town’s South Parade must now collect their post from the main sorting office whenever the weather takes a turn for the worse after a postman slipped on a wet mossy flagstone and broke his shoulder.

Royal Mail said in a letter to the two accountancy firms and one computer business affected that it had carried out a health and safety assessment of the street.

This found that “the incident occurred as a result of our postman slipping over due to the footpath and steps being covered by moss and algae”.

It goes on to state: “This confirmed that the level of risk associated with this delivery is unacceptable due to the wet weather turning the footpath and steps into a dangerous surface to walk on.”

Amanda Henwood, from one of the three firms affected, described the decision as “bizarre”.

There’s no doubt that digital communications are a useful and convenient tool for many consumers. However, independent figures show that for many, paper based communications help them manage their finances....